Wednesday, June 20, 2007

Ghost Pops "Vending Machine"

In order to sell a chip snack based on the Ghostbusters theme, they had to appeal to a media-savvy younger target audience. They needed to create an interactive, engaging and compelling buying experience to lure the target market in and make the sale, without seeming ordinary or contrived. Taking into account their target audience and product, they created an interactive buying experience whereby the product, a chip snack based on the Ghostbusters theme, actullay told you to buy it. And said thanks for the purchase. They rigged everyday vending machines in colleges with motion sensors to create a paranormal buying experience. When someone stepped close to the machine, it shook as if possessed and spoke in a ghostly little girl’s voice, telling them to come closer and buy Ghost Pops. When a person bought Ghost Pops, the machine misted up and the word “thanks” appeared on the glass. The product is a chip snack called Ghost Pops and is based on the Ghostbusters theme. They used this ghost theme and extended it to our point of purchase, creating “possessed” vending machines. They shook, they spoke, they even misted up and said thank you for the purchase. These machines were placed in colleges to target the relevant audience, turning a usually cluttered point of purchase into a paranormal buying experience. The vending machine truly grabbed the attention of the target audience. Reactions varied from being startled, to intrigued to laughing. Some people even spoke back to the machine. But whatever the reaction, the possessed vending machine worked like a charm and Ghost Pops outsold other chips packets 3 to 1. Tongues were wagging over this machine, upping brand awareness and brand sales.